Ives Statement on Historic Fracking Legislation

kathleen.murphy0602, Community Contributor

February 22, 2013 – Springfield, Illinois – Yesterday, lawmakers in Springfield rolled out HB 2615, The Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act. In a bi-partisan press conference, held yesterday at the State Capital Rotunda, legislators were surrounded by stakeholders often competing interest groups, including the Sierra Club, the oil and gas industry, the AFL-CIO, and many business organizations to support the new bill.

Representative Ives stated, “I am pleased to lend my support to HB 2615. Representatives Bradley (D-Marion) and Reis (R-Olney) have spent a year building the framework for a very measured piece of legislation. They looked at best practices from around the country and have put forth an agreement that protects the environment, yet promotes investment and exploration of our state’s natural resources.” The measure permits high volume fracking while enforcing some of the nation’s strictest water and air protections. House Bill 2615 establishes the permit process, property owner notification, defines prevention standards and public input timelines.

New natural gas production in Illinois could create more than 45,000 jobs and $9 billion in economic development, according to an Illinois Chamber Foundation Study. The report identified potential economic benefits to the state at three hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling scenarios (low, medium and high): lowest scenario create 1,034 new jobs and the highest scenario 47,312. The study concluded fracking in Illinois, under modest assumptions, will be a significant creator of new jobs translating into billions of dollars in economic impact for the state.

Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly referred to as fracking, is the extraction of natural gas and oil from the earth through horizontal drilling. The extraction technique involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into the rock to release the natural gas.

“One of the best ways to encourage growth is through our energy industry. We are blessed with abundant coal and natural gas resources,” Ives said. “With regulations that are reasonable and based on common-sense, we can grow our state’s competitive advantage, create middle class jobs and begin to re-fuel our economy.”

“This legislation has the potential to create new jobs and invest millions of new revenue from state, sales and local taxes,” Ives continued. “This is the proper way for Illinois to produce an increase in revenue that will help us overcome our significant budgetary challenges and get on a path to economic prosperity.”